Cover Story
Taking root: There’s a disconnect between food producers and the general public, and some locals are working to re-establish that relationship
It was only about 10 a.m. on April 5 and the air in Santa Maria was already feeling balmy. The warm morning sun poked through the clouds and shone heavily on portions of Allan Hancock College’s student garden. The lot smelled of freshly cut grass and echoed with the incessant chirps of busy birds and…
Spotlight on: Natural History Museum
Virginia Perry Souza and her mother first opened the Natural History Museum in Santa Maria as a tribute to Souza’s late father, who was fascinated by the Central Coast’s nature and wildlife and passed that appreciation on to his daughter. Despite her genuine enjoyment of wildlife, Souza said she’d had no intention of acting on…
Deep breaths
Santa Maria residents have been arguing about whether to house temporary guest farmworkers in town since at least 2015—and they still haven’t figured anything out. Last year, the city hosted a series of workshops to try to explain the federal H-2A program. Farmers and agricultural industry representatives have said that it’s a necessity. So, in…
Community rallies to halt temporary ban on farmworker housing
When he stood in front of a packed house on April 2, Andy Patel was honest about his initial misgivings in allowing H-2A farmworkers to live at the De Ville Motel on Broadway, which he owns and operates. “I was quite reticent and very hesitant about having them there,” Patel told members of the Santa…
Grand jury had raised concerns about site of fatal crash
The intersection where an 83-year-old Santa Maria woman died in a crash on April 4 was the subject of a grand jury investigation five years ago. In its 2014 report, members of the Santa Barbara County grand jury raised a number of safety concerns about the intersection of Union Valley Parkway and California Boulevard in…
County drafting an agreement emphasizing local workers
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors directed county staff to begin developing a countywide community workforce agreement in an attempt to give preference to local workers for public projects, and create an apprenticeship program to increase the wages of low-income workers in the county. Although county staff could not provide the board with the exact…
Lompoc to use state, county funds to help aging roads
The city of Lompoc will receive millions of dollars from state and county revenue sources to help fix and maintain its roads, but officials say its not nearly enough to truly tackle the expensive maintenance costs for the city’s streets. At an April 2 regular meeting, members of the Lompoc City Council voted unanimously to…
Political Watch Apr. 11, 2019
• One day before National Equal Pay Day, April 2, the state’s First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California Labor Secretary Julie A. Su, the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, and Time’s Up announced #EqualPayCA, a campaign to help close the pay gap in California. They announced the commission’s Pay Equity Task…
Wine Futures event allows wine lovers a chance to do some speculation
Great news, everyone: I can see into the future! OK, that’s probably a bit (very) inaccurate. But I had so many future puns and jokes ready for this column this week I couldn’t pass that one up. While I may not be Kreskin, I have had the opportunity to sample some wines in a unique…
Friends of the Library holds Painted Chair Raffle
The eighth annual Painted Chair Raffle, sponsored by the Friends of the Santa Maria Public Library, runs at the Santa Maria Town Center from April 13 through May 3, with the exception of Easter Sunday, April 21. A reception for participating artists and sponsors takes place on Friday, April 12. The display room is located…
Local history series hosts Dawn Goodman
Heart of the Valley, a monthly local history series presented by the Santa Maria Public Library in partnership with local historian Shirley Contreras, hosts its next event on Saturday, April 20, at 10:15 a.m. This month’s guest speaker is Dawn Goodman, who will be speaking about the life of her father, Donald Goodman, a member…
Orcutt Community Theater presents ‘Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play’
Orcutt Community Theater’s production of Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play opens Friday, April 19, and runs through Sunday, May 5, at Klein Dance Arts Studio in Santa Maria. Performances take place at 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. Dixie Arthur, one of the founders of Orcutt Community Theater, directs…
Former United States Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera visits Santa Maria
It’s not every day that a former United States poet laureate comes to Santa Maria. But that will soon be the case. Juan Felipe Herrera, the 21st U.S poet laureate, is part of the community’s celebration throughout April, which is National Poetry Month. Herrera will lead a workshop for 50 students at Allan Hancock College’s…
The Melodrama’s ‘Unnecessary Farce’ is a necessary show to see
Two wannabe cops and then two hitmen walk into a motel room. Oh, and there are actually two conjoined motel rooms, eight doors, an embezzler, and a set of bagpipes. Each twist, literal and figurative, sends audiences further and further down a rabbit hole of zany, laugh-out-loud comedy in the Great American Melodrama’s adaptation of…
Santa Barbara-based singer/songwriter Brandi Rose to perform at Cold Spring Tavern
I doubt there’s a personality test out there that I wouldn’t be willing to take. But none of me doubts there are still so many I’ve yet to come across. I already know my Myers-Briggs and Pottermore results—ENFP and Slytherin, respectively—but can either of them inform which Full House character I am? I’ve taken the…
Oil and quakes don’t mix
Increased seismic activity is only one of many inevitable potential dangers from the expansion of oil drilling in the Santa Maria Valley. ERG, Aera, and PetroRock all intend to use cyclic steam injection to pull the heavy, thick crude from the ground, which requires the re-injection of wastewater. Wastewater injections are considered to be responsible…
Birds on a perch
The Santa Maria Sun has a Canary whose opinions grace the paper each week, but this bird is not alone. Preening as she does and chirping away, the Canary is a piker when compared to the avian trio that perch on the dais during Lompoc City Council meetings. One citizen recently complained during a council…
Jayson Downey
Santa Maria High School student Jayson Downey is still young, but track and field coaches expect to see great things from the athlete in years to come. Downey, a sophomore, specializes in long, high, and triple jumps. He’s doing well enough in the league overall, but according to assistant coach Steven Youngblood, he’s close to…
Researchers need local moms for bottle-feeding study
New and expecting moms constantly hear about the positive nutritional and behavioral effects breastfeeding can have on babies, but no one really talks about how difficult and confusing breastfeeding can actually be. Nursing can be especially challenging for working moms, like Casey Heaney, who can’t stay home with their babies or bring them to work.…
Spotlight on: Lompoc Valley 2019 Initiative
The Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board announced the launch of the Lompoc Valley 2019 Initiative, a collaboration between local youth, city leaders, government agencies, and private businesses. Also known as Workforce Week, the initiative includes three events aimed at providing individuals with work-related resources for every step of the job-search process, from how to…
